Richard Straus Family Collection

Richard Siegmund Straus was born on December 28, 1925 in Karlsruhe, Germany, the only son of the bank director Julius Straus and his wife Gertrude (née Heimberger). Richard's early education in Karlsruhe was at the Grund- und Hauptschule Karlsruhe, Volkschule Karlsruhe, and the Gymnasium Karlsruhe. In 1938 his father Julius Straus was sent to the concentration camp Dachau and Richard Straus forced to leave school. In July 1939 Julius and Gertrude Straus sent Richard on a Kindertransport to Wales while they acquired immigration visas for the United States with the support of Julius Straus's cousin, Joseph Smith, in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). Richard spent his year in Wales attending the Garw Secondary School until he was able to join his parents in Baltimore.

In Baltimore, Richard Straus studied at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute until his graduation in 1944. During these years he worked part-time in a textile factory to support his family, while his father worked as a painter. Gertrude Straus eventually found work as a dietician and head cook at the Talmudic Academy of Baltimore. In July of 1944 Richard was inducted into the United States Army and the following October became an American citizen. While in the military he fought in the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of Remagen, and later worked as an interpreter for the American occupation forces.

After his discharge from the military in September 1946, Richard Straus attended night courses at George Washington University's School of Foreign Service, from which he received his Bachelor's degree in 1950. He also worked in civil service, first at the Pentagon, and after 1948 at the State Department. While at the State Department he met his future wife, Elaine Scharoff, who had been working as a secretary there.

Elaine Scharoff, born Lillian Sprina Scharoff, had grown up in Rochester, New York, having been raised first by her grandparents and later by her cousins. After high school she worked for the civil service during World War II, until she was transferred to the Pentagon in 1946, and later moved to a position at the State Department. Richard and Elaine married on December 29, 1951, but by the end of January Richard had been sent to Bonn, Germany, for his work with the State Department. On November 1, 1952 their son Alan was born in Baltimore.

From 1958-1963 Richard Straus served as a consul at the American embassy in Vienna, Austria; during these years he was also on the Board of Trustees of the American International School in Vienna. From 1965-1966 he was Senior State Department Representative at the National Military Command Center, and from 1966-1968 Deputy Director of the Office of Canadian Affairs at the Department of State and Secretary of the Permanent Joint Defense Board for the United States and Canada. Then from 1968 to 1972 he was general consul in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. While general consul in Newfoundland he also continued his education, receiving a Master's degree in History from Memorial University in 1972. From 1972 through 1978 he was director of the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' Western European Division. In this position he helped to develop the Fulbright Commission Program, including making agreements with Japan, Spain, and Germany. He was also a Foreign Service inspector in Mexico.

In 1979 Richard Straus retired from the State Department; that same year Germany awarded him the Große Verdienstkreuz (Greater Cross of Merit) and Spain the Orden de Isabel la Católica (Order of Isabella the Catholic), both awards of merit for service to the respective nations. In the following years he then worked as an advisor to the German and Canadian embassies on cultural and educational matters, as a director the Carl Duisburg Society, and as an advisor at the Ford Foundation and the German Marshall Fund. In 1980 he became the American representative of the International Institute of Communication, in 1982 a Program Officer of the Visitor Program Service of Meridian House International, and in 1983 director of the Committee on International Tele-Education.

In addition to his professional appointments, Richard Straus wrote articles for newspapers such as Aufbau and the Allgemeine jüdische Wochenzeitung as well as for professional publications such as the Department of State Bulletin and the Foreign Service Journal. He also worked as a translator for various organizations. In 1962 his book Coal, Steel, Atoms, and Trade: the Challenge of Uniting Europe was published. In 1982 his book Communications and International Trade: a Symposium was published, with him as editor. He also worked on projects for the West German government reviewing the presentation of Jewish and National Socialist-era history in West German school textbooks.

On October 4, 1986, Richard and Elaine Straus were hit by a drunk driver on their way to Rosh Hashanah services in Baltimore. Richard Straus died that day, while Elaine Straus was hospitalized for months and only learned of his death two weeks after the accident. She passed away two years later.